


Bradford Bad Birb

by teaandtumblr



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Mentions of Drowning, One Shot, Tumblr Prompt, Uni AU, alulawings, ambiguous magic, bradford bad boy, fairy tale AU, harry styles in mentioned, it doesnt make sense, its all just cute really, like at all, memes are a thing, no one actually dies though, nor is it explained, zayn is a duckling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-05-29 16:12:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6383473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teaandtumblr/pseuds/teaandtumblr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>What if Zayn were a duckling?</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Liam had never meant to be stalked by a duck but after it had introduced itself via a <em>meme</em> for god's sake, he didn't really have much of a choice.<br/>That and the fact that there's something haunting in its eyes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bradford Bad Birb

**Author's Note:**

> so this lovely prompt I found over at: http://alulawings.tumblr.com/post/141530034861/what-if-zayn-were-a-duckling-an-au-phone . It was honestly too cute for me to ignore once it turned up on my dash. Definitely go and check it out! .xx Dan

 

When Liam had naively signed up to a double degree of Business and Creative Industries, he hadn’t imagined that his life would become a bizarre imbalance between eat, study, and sleep. There weren’t always enough hours in the day to accomplish that, not when his roommates Louis and Niall were constantly adding _socialising_ to that list. More often than not Liam went – hey, he _liked_ going out as much as the next guy – but that didn’t mean he didn’t value his alone time either.

Which was why today, instead of eating his lunch on campus with whatever classmates were closest, Liam had decided to stop beside the reservoir near their flats. He could eat his sandwich in peace and toy around with whatever little twigs and blades of glass were closest. It was peaceful here in the middle of the day, only the odd couple here and a man with his dog there.

And, Liam quickly discovered, one particularly incessant duckling.

Now Liam wouldn’t normally refer to ducklings as _incessant_. He was no expert on the subject however he didn’t think they usually waddled up to strangers and began tugging on the laces of their boots. Luckily the action startled him but not enough to have Liam rocketing into the air, something that surely would have sent the little yellow ball of fluff scampering away. No, his response to seeing a little duckling pulling on his lace was a single, eloquent,

“Huh?”

If he wasn’t very much mistaken, the duckling actually looked at him before flapping its tiny wings in a way Liam would describe as happy. It gave a little quack and then stopped, blinking at him as if waiting.

“Oh, hi there…” Liam greeted…though he did have to wonder about his own sanity if he was introducing himself to a _duck_. “Who are you?”

…oh God, was he expecting an _answer?_

From a _duck?_

Liam smacked his palm against his forehead. He was an idiot, lord help him.

Liam then froze when he saw the duckling in question actually pick up the twig he’d been toying with and start to sketch into the ground with it. It was nothing more than a coincidence, Liam was sure…Until his mouth dropped open because that…that was…

_Bradford Bad Birb_

English. Holy shit, that was _English_. The duckling was writing on the _actual_ ground in _actual_ English. It had literally _written something_.

Liam’s gaze flew between the writing and the little bird, who looked quite pleased with himself – it had to be a he, right? How many girls referred to themselves as _bad girls?_ And hey,

“Birb?” Liam read out. “ _Bird_. The word is bird. You’re very close though,” he tacked on, starting to smudge out the last letter and re-write it properly.

Of course, that was when the little thing bit him, Liam yelping. “ _Ow mate!_ That didn’t half hurt!”

For all his scolding he was ignored, the duckling merely reclaiming his twig and rewriting the ‘b’.

“Bradford bad birb?” Liam read out questioningly, watching the animal flap its wings in delight. Liam suddenly frowned, pulling out his phone. “Hang on…isn’t that?” Sure enough, google yielded the response he wanted. “That’s…that’s a _meme_. Birb is a meme. Are you speaking to me through _memes?_ ” he asked incredulously. “How do you even _know_ what a meme is?”

The stick was picked up once more and Liam watched intently, drawn in as the twig scratched through the earth leaving him looking at…

“A rose?” Liam’s nose screwed up. “What…what does a rose have to do with anything?”

If he didn’t know better, Liam would say he was being scowled at. Well hey, maybe Mr. Bad Birb should _write_ what he meant instead of playing bloody Pictionary.

“Oh, Pippy, no! Come back boy!”

The little girl’s yell came from behind him and Liam spun around just in time to see a white ball of fluff tear past him. It turned out to be a maltese puppy and Liam smiled at its energy…until he realised what it had been after.

“ _Shit_ ,” Liam swore under his breath, watching his duckling – _his_ , really? – duck into the reeds at the water’s edge.

Luckily, it seemed as though Pippy the dog was not a fan of water and didn’t so much as attempt to give chase. Liam breathed a sigh of relief, glancing at the time and beginning to collect his things. He had to get home and have a nap before he started his night-fill job. Turning around once more, Liam saw a tiny yellow head poking out from behind a reed.

“ _Tomorrow_ ,” he mouthed, not even sure if the bird understood. As Liam headed towards home, he pulled out his phone, dialling excitedly.

_“…’llo?”_

“Oh my god, Tommo, I met this incredible bird today,” Liam started, not even sure Louis was entirely coherent. It was just after midday after all.

There came the sound of disinterested humming. “ _Isn’t it too early to be pulling birds at the club Liam? Llike, are they even open?”_

Liam rolled his eyes. “I meant a real bird. Uh, you know, a _quack quack_ bird? Anyway, the bird pulled _me_ , actually…”

Louis paused.

“It pulled my _shoelace_ ,” Liam snapped, sending a prayer skywards. “ _Jesus_ Lou’. And then, guess what?”

_“Liam, love, are you trying to tell me that instead of Leda and the swan, we’ve now got Liam and the duck?”_

“ _H-hey!_ ” Liam cried, outraged. “What exactly are you-”

 _“I’m not saying you’re going to pop out two sets of twins in a pair of eggs,”_ Louis crowed, sounding far too pleased with himself. _“For God’s sake Li’, calm down. If your duck turns out to be a greek god, I don’t think you’d complain.”_

Liam’s feet slowly came to a halt. “…you think I’m joking. I’m not. It could _write!_ You have to come and see this duck.”

 _“Hmm, no thanks. The only duck I like is Donald,”_ Louis said flippantly.

“But there’s other wildlife around too,” Liam wheedled. “Maybe you’ll meet a cool creature too like-”

_“Ah, sounds like Niall just tripped over the doorstep again. Talk to you late Liam! Cheers!”_

“…like…a frog or something…” Liam finished sadly, staring at his phone despondently.

 

***

 

“But apparently that’s _not_ the correct answer,” Liam complained, flopping onto his back and getting a plethora of angry _peeps_ in return. “Oops, sorry,” he chuckled, a finger running down the back of the duckling that was grumpily trying to re-settle on his chest. “Forgot you were there.” A nip. “ _Oi_ , knock it off! Not like that…I just…forget you’re not a person sometimes, you know?”

In what was probably the saddest thing in his entire life, Liam had actually started counting Bradford Bad Birb as his _friend_. Everyday Liam made his way to the reservoir and everyday his little friend would appear and waddle over to his side. Liam had started bringing along little tidbits of food – bits of sandwiches and pastries, though apparently ham and bacon were out? That was honestly the least of his problems though because, seriously, what was Liam even doing with his life? What kind of twenty-year-old allocated time for a _duckling_ every day…for over _a month?!_

God, there was something wrong with him.

“Did you ever want to go to uni?”

 _Oh my god!_ Liam groaned loudly. Of course. The fucking duckling wanted to go to uni. _Of course_ it did! Wasn’t that every animals’ dream? To pursue a higher level of education?

There was a fossicking in his shirt pocket and when Liam lifted his head enough to see, Mr. Bad Birb had managed to pull his pen out, jumping down to where Liam’s notebook was spread on the grass. A couple of minutes later a wonky drawing of a diploma and graduation cap stared back at him. Liam gaped.

“You…you _did?_ Did you really?”

The duckling flumped down onto the ground, tucking its beak under its wing.

“Hey, don’t be sad,” Liam cooed, rolling onto his stomach and dropping his voice, one, to be soothing and two, so as not to be overheard. “What…what even happened to you?”

The tiny bird started to shake, feathers ruffling and pitiful noises escaping.

“Oh no, no, no! You don’t have to tell me if it makes you sad! Sorry, sorry! It must have been awful, right? Whatever did this to you, made you like this?”

It then hit him:

He thought his duck was _human_.

That…that was his legitimate thought pattern. He, Liam James Payne, actually thought a _duck_ was _human_. That wasn’t okay. That wasn’t even _remotely_ okay. Without thought, Liam snatched up his books and tore out of the park. Headed back towards the campus, back towards reality.

 

***

 

_He remembered it well._

_It wasn’t something easily forgotten, he supposed. He remembered running with his friends through the falling snow. It was biting cold but they hadn’t cared. They were young, reckless, stupid perhaps. High on weed, on alcohol, on life itself._

_They’d reached a bridge, the three of them managing to bump into each other and send them nearly toppling to the ground. The impromptu wrestling match had started, pushing this way and that, hands a little too rough but never with the intent to hurt._

_He remembered the second it all went wrong._

_The second he’d been pushed a little too hard against the low railing, the second he’d felt himself start to fall, the knives that had seemingly struck his body the second he’d hit the water. He could still remember the screams of his friends as he’d fallen below the surface, trying to kick but never quite being able to. He remembered the energy leaving his body, he remembered the cold, he remembered the darkness._

_He remembered it_ too _well._

 

***

 

Liam was drawn from his absent staring out the window by a bop to the head. “Ow Niall! What the hell?”

Niall merely raised an eyebrow. “Don’t give me that Liam. Any reason you’ve been staring out the window for ten hours straight?”

“I have not been,” Liam grumbled, rubbing his head sourly and returning to his dinner.

“Sorry mate, but you have been,” Louis piped up, glancing up from his textbook long enough to level Liam a look. “What’s wrong this time?”

“You make it sound like I always have a problem,” Liam huffed.

“No, you’ve just been odd tonight.” Niall’s own eyes turned towards the window where rain was lashing against it wildly. “Fuck, that’s really chucking down, isn’t it?”

Liam gnawed on his bottom lip. “Do you…do you think…?” He toyed at the hem of his jumper guiltily.

“Liam.” Louis’ voice was gentle this time, eyes holding a worried edge. “Li’, what?”

Liam ran a hand through his hair. “Do you think he’s okay?”

Two confused pair of eyes blinked back at him. “Who?” Niall questioned.

“Don’t make me say it out loud,” Liam whined. “The…the duckling, okay? The one you always tease me about? Do you think _he_ is okay in _this?_ ” A shaking finger pointed out the window.

He was prepared for Louis’ laughter but instead he was met with a hand coming to rest on his forearm. “This really bothers you,” Louis realised, shoulders deflating a little. “Why?”

“Because I talk to the stupid thing and I treat it like a person and then today I was mean to it…well, mean if it had been a person, you know?...but now I feel bad and-!”

“Liam, _breathe!_ ” Niall ordered, flicking his ear and making him squawk. “And alright, it’s weird but not stupid weird. Tons of people talk to their pets.” He gave a simple shrug. “Yours ‘s just not a pet.”

 _And also mine’s maybe perhaps a human_ , Liam thought but didn’t dare say.

“Li’.” Liam looked up to find Louis holding out his coat and an umbrella. “Let’s go find it, yeah? Sounds like he’s lost his mum so the least we can do is put the little fella up for the night.”

Liam was pretty sure he nearly cried tears of joy at Louis’ words, hugging his best friend before they took off through the night. It was dark and cold and absolutely pelting down but Liam didn’t care. No, he led Louis straight to where he always sat. Ignoring Louis’ warning shout, Liam skidded towards the water’s edge when he saw the tiniest flicker of yellow through the darkness. Nearly tripping in the mud, Liam managed to save himself by falling onto his knees, hands splaying right at the water’s edge.

“Hey, Bradford!” he called over the wind, watching the tiny head pop up in astonishment. He held out his hand. “Come on!”

“ _Liam!_ ” Louis hollered, teetering a few metres back. “Mate, it’s getting worse. _We gotta go!_ ”

“I’ve got him!” Liam shouted back, drawing the duck to his chest and jogging back to Louis’ side.

Louis’ eyes widened at the creature tucked into chest. “Fucking hell Liam. He really _does_ like you.” He then nodded towards the direction they’d come from. “Home?”

“Home.”

 

***

 

“There,” Liam murmured, finishing blow-drying off Mr. Bradford and setting him on the towel he’d just popped through the dryer. “Nice and warm, alright?” He carried the wad of blankets into his bedroom.

“He alright?” Niall asked as Liam passed.

Liam peered down, a tiny smile appearing on his face. “Look, he’s already asleep.” It was true. “Little thing’s exhausted.”

“Let him sleep then,” Louis murmured, freshly showered and tucked up onto the couch. His eyes, however, said more.

Begrudgingly, Liam did as asked, setting the sleeping duckling in his room before padding back to the lounge. He opted to drop down next to Niall, leaving Louis to fend for himself on the other couch. Louis pouted.

“I know what you did there Payno.”

Liam waved a hand. “Doesn’t matter what I did. What is it Louis?”

Louis glared at his socks, brow furrowed. “What aren’t you telling us?” At Liam’s blank expression, he rolled his eyes. “Look, Liam, this isn’t a _duck_. Sure, it’s cute as hell but you don’t go _this_ nuts over a cute duck.” He narrowed his gaze. “Is this something to do with the fact that you think it can write? Or whatever it is you were on about that first day?”

Niall’s head snapped up, eyes wide. “It can _what?!_ ”

“Don’t patronise me Louis,” Liam snapped before turning to Niall, holding out his phone. “Here, see for yourself.”

Because _yes_ , Liam had started photographing every drawing Mr. Bradford did. Oddly, he’d never written anything after that first name. It had only been pictures since then and Liam hadn’t thought to take a picture that first day, too shocked more than anything. He wondered if that meant something. He was no expert on human-to-animal transformations…if that was even what they were dealing with here.

“Liam…” Louis said slowly. “I don’t mean to be the bad guy but…you know you can draw right? I mean, this isn’t anything beyond what you can do if I’m honest. You could have drawn those.”

Niall looked torn but Liam snatched his phone back. “Give me one reason why I would lie Tommo.”

“And that’s why I don’t get this,” Louis admitted. “Because you _wouldn’t_ lie. It’s just…”

And Liam knew what he was going to say. Because it was _true_.

“It just doesn’t make sense.”

“It’s _impossible_ ,” Louis corrected. He then got to his feet, stretching his back. “But hey, I’ve had that said to me in bed before so who knows?”

_“Louis!”_

The older boy’s cackling echoed from down the hall. “If he does something spectacularly human, I’ll start believing you, okay? Love you!”

“Yeah, you too!” Liam called back, standing himself. He went to swerve around the couch when he felt Niall grip the bottom of his shirt.

“…Don’t…it’s never just nonsense,” Niall whispered. “If it feels real Liam, then it probably is.”

With those cryptic words, Niall left. Right then.

 

***

 

 _He remembered waking up the next morning and feeling nothing short of disorientated. Nothing was as it should be. The world was too big, too looming. The colours were too vibrant, the proportion was out. And he felt…_ wrong _._

_It took him hours to uncover the truth._

_He probably would have gone insane._

Would _have, would have had distraction not come. And came it did. Came in the way of several police vans turning up. Next came a boat with a diving team. He watched as for hours and hours they searched fruitlessly. His name was thrown about, back and forth, like a ping pong match._

_He remembered hearing the words:_

“Assumed deceased. Body lost.”

_Remembered officers saying that any attempt to find his body would require the reservoir being drained. There hadn’t been enough cause for that, apparently. It was youths mucking about, not a poorly executed murder._

_He remembered trying to go home. Trying to sneak on a bus, a train, anything. But it had never worked. Every time he’d gotten more than a couple of miles there had come a pain in his chest so terrible it had felt as though his very soul was being torn out. That had always led to noise and kerfuffles, had him thrown out windows and tossed out of vehicles._

_Then he’d wander his way back, pain lessening with every foot closer to the reservoir he got. It should have seemed cruel. Instead, he saw it as a relief. Because surely it meant that something was tethering him here._

_He was tied here. If only he could find out_ why _._

 

***

 

Liam was hunched over his desk, absently chewing on the end of his pen when he heard shrieking coming from the front door followed by a mountain of profanities. Liam could have sworn he heard some little _peeps_ as well but then feet were pounding towards his room and his door was flung open.

_“Liam Payne, holy shit!”_

Liam whipped around to find both Louis and Niall there. Niall’s face was split into a brilliant grin while Louis looked ready to tear his hair out, eyes wild. And there…in his hands…

Liam’s chair tipped over as he launched to his feet. “He came back?!”

“ _What the fuck Liam?_ ” Louis cried, hands curled around the precious ball of fluff in his arms. “How..? He…? Did you see what he brought?!”

“What he…?” Liam blinked down, sucking in a breath because, _oh my god_ , little Bad Birb had one of Liam’s bandanas tightly clutched in his bill. He must have dropped it last night in the storm. And… “Did you bring this back for me?”

Even as he was carefully taking the muddy fabric back, Louis was nodding furtively. “Yeah, he did Li’! I was coming up the steps right and this little mad thing was at the door of our flat, body fluffing up and down it were so tired but it was dragging this thing. Li’, that’s yours. It _knew!_ And it _remembered_ where you lived!”

“Louis,” Liam chided, taking the duckling into his arms and nuzzling it. “Too loud Tommo. He’s only little.”

“A _he_ now is he?” Louis asked cheekily.

“Shut up,” Liam mumbled, softly stroking the duck’s back. “Thank you, for bringing this back. Must have been a long way.”

“Poor thing must be buggered,” Niall said. “I’d give it dinner if I knew what it ate.”

“Worms Niall,” Louis said primly. “They eat worms.”

Indignant, not to mention furious, quacking came from Liam’s hands and Liam laughed at his roommates’ dumbfounded expressions. “Yeah, no. He eats normal food.”

“Alright, fine!” Louis threw his hands in the air. “I’ll feed it bloody caviar if that’ll get it shut up. Feed it Niall before I drown it for the sake of peace and quiet!”

“Whoa, whoa, _hey!_ ”

Liam didn’t know what had happened but one minute he’d been holding the madly peeping duckling and the next second it hadn’t been able to escape from his hands fast enough. Its tiny feet pattered out of Liam’s room and towards the front door.

“ _Hey!_ ” Liam cried. “Don’t run away! You don’t have to be scared.”

If he knew better, Liam would have sworn the duckling hesitated at the door. It then seemed to shake its head and slip out, tiny _peeps_ echoing from the stairwell as it scrambled away. There came the sound of Niall slapping Louis none too gently and Louis yelping in mock hurt and genuine outrage. At Louis’ offended expression, Niall merely hip-checked him before coming up beside Liam.

“Makes him seem pretty real then, don’t it? The fact that he knew this-” he tugged on the bandana still in Liam’s grip, “-was yours.”

“Yeah,” Liam said slowly, fingers tightening in the red fabric.

“…Did you ever ask?”

Liam frowned at Louis. “Ask what?”

“If he was, you know, human?”

“He said he wanted to go to uni,” Liam recalled, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “And first time I met him, he drew a meme.”

Louis choked. “A…A _meme?!_ ”

“Hmm, that’s what made me think he wasn’t quite normal. And when I asked how he knew, he drew…I think it was a rose?” Liam shrugged. “Didn’t really get it at the time. Do you?”

Niall seemed to come up blank but Louis was pacing the floor. “A rose…a rose…isn’t that…” He then froze mid-step. “A rose. Isn’t that _Beauty and the Beast_?”

Liam blinked. “What?”

“ _The beast!_ ” Louis exclaimed, hands gesturing wildly. “He’s a human and gets turned into a beast and he has until the rose runs out? I mean, there’s no rose at the reservoir but _maybe_ he was trying to hint that he was trapped too, like the Beast.”

…that almost made sense.

“I have to ask though,” Louis said, eyebrows raised. “What was the meme?”

“Oh, it was that Birb one,” Liam explained. “You know, you don’t use _bird_ but _birb_? I asked his name and he wrote _Bradford Bad Birb_ and when I tried to fix it he-”

A loud _crash_ came from the kitchen, Louis and Liam whirling around. Niall was standing there, eyes so, so serious, face ashen. “ _What_ did he say?”

Liam took a step back. “Niall, you what?”

 _“The bird!”_ Niall yelled. _“What did it write?”_

“Easy Nialler,” Louis placated, holding his hands up.

Holding Niall’s gaze, Liam repeated slowly, enunciating each word, “ _Bradford Bad Birb_.”

“No, no, no,” Niall muttered, rounding the bench and ripping open his laptop. He held up a finger when Louis went to question him, typing something in and running a shaking hand down his face. “ _Zayn Malik_.”

Liam looked at Louis cluelessly but he looked just as lost. “A Zayn what?”

“ _Christ_ , don’t you two remember?” Niall looked genuinely haunted. “ _Zayn Malik_. He was a student here, then last December he was out with some mates and he fell into the reservoir. It was pitch black that night, snowing and freezing. They never found his body.”

“He _drowned?!_ ” Liam gasped, paling.

Niall nodded grimly. “That’s what the police said. Ant and Danny were messes for weeks. Think they ended up dropping out.”

Louis fell into the chair next to Niall, hands shaking. “ _Fuck_ …he…” He swallowed thickly. “I remember him; Zayn. With the skateboard and the graffiti and all the tats. He…Bradford Bad Boy. That’s what we all used to call him.”

Liam felt lost. “I don’t…I don’t remember him.”

“You’re new Li’,” Louis murmured. “This happened before you even started here. They kept it pretty hushed.”

“It was only an accident after all,” Niall added on. “Could have-”

“ _Hang on_.” They all stopped at Liam’s tone and Liam…Liam felt his knees threaten to give. “He…this Zayn…he _drowned_ , in the reservoir.”

“Yes.”

“He _died_ there.”

Louis frowned. “Well…yeah, apparently. But if this duck is-”

“He _drowned_.”

“ _Yes Liam!_ He _drowned!_ Now can you-”

 _“And you threatened to drown him Louis!”_ Liam roared, making both his roommates flinch. “No wonder he took off! _Jesus_ , did you wanna kill him twice?!”

An image popped in his head, the duckling curled in on itself and whimpering when Liam had asked him what had happened. God, he’d asked right where he’d _died_. Well, maybe died? _Had_ he even died? And for the love of _Christ_ , if this ducking _was_ Zayn and he _had_ drowned, why was he at the same fucking lake?

“I have to go!”

“Liam!”

Liam ignored his best friends, flying out the door and down the street. He didn’t know what he was going to do but he needed to find Zayn and needed to find him now. Whatever was happening, this wasn’t okay. He could apologise for Louis, he could get an explanation, he could tell Zayn he thought he knew the truth.

Maybe he could do something.

_Anything._

Perhaps he could-

_“Liam!”_

He didn’t have time to react to the hysterical shout, didn’t have a chance because the next thing he knew he was falling. Darkness rushed towards him and just before he hit Liam realised what it was: _water_. He fell through the surface in a _splash_ , the breath being knocked out of his lungs from the force of the impact. He made to kick but it was like he couldn’t, like something was sapping him of strength, like all he could do was sink down as the lights above grew ever dimmer.

His mind was overrun with panic but for all the good it did. Liam’s limbs remained as heavy as ever and he was beginning to see white spots in front of his eyes when something snared him around the waist. The fright caused what little air was left in his lungs to escape but they were moving towards the surface, faster and faster, chasing the light, chasing life, until-

_“Liam!”_

Niall and Louis’ cries came from the banks, their eyes full of tears. Liam managed a sluggish wave, his only thought to get air into his burning lungs. Something was still around his waist and Liam inhaled enough air to pant out, “Cheers mate.”

“Hey, just doing for you what no one did for me.” There was a chuckle. “Never thought it would cure me though. ‘s nice reward, if you ask me.”

Turning around so fast they both nearly slipped back under, Liam found himself mesmerised by the boy treading water beside him. In the moonlight, he looked ethereal, cheekbones chiselled by the night itself and eyes shining with starlight. He…he was…

“ _Zayn…_ ”

The young man grinned. “You figured out who I was then?”

“Just,” Liam gasped, vainly trying to help as Zayn began to drag them closer to the shore. “You… _holy shit_ , you’re _alive_.”

Zayn’s nose scrunched up. “I am. Gonna be a bitch to explain. How I came back from the dead as a duck…oh, and fell in love with a ridiculously attractive uni student what fed me.”

Liam floundered. “Wait, _what?!_ ”

Zayn shrugged, passing Liam to Niall and Louis before clambering out himself, flopping down next to him. “Am I wrong? Actually,” he said, tilting his head to the side. “Don’t care if I am.”

The next thing Liam knew, a pair of lips were smashed against his. He didn’t even hesitate, cupping Zayn’s face and returning the kiss. Zayn hummed appreciatively, pulling away with a satisfied smirk and _god_ , Liam was gonna have his hands full with this one, he could tell. Behind them, Niall was snickering while Louis’ jaw was all but on the ground. Liam then suddenly remembered something, grinning widely as he turned back to Zayn.

“Oh and by the way, Louis here’s single. Any more “greek gods” in this pond?”

“ _Oi!_ ” Louis shrieked but Zayn merely furrowed his brows together.

“Um…no greek gods but…some kid named Harry Styles got into a boating accident on the reservoir over ‘bout six months ago. Think he’s a frog or something…?”

_“A frog?!”_

Liam laughed loudly, pulling Zayn against his chest, basking in his rumbling laugh. Okay, so he wasn’t Leda and the Sawn but _Liam and the Duckling_ sounded much better to him anyway.

 

***

**Author's Note:**

> cheers to everyone who read and enjoyed this! Hopefully it was all a little fun and everyone gets their happy ending. :)
> 
> Don't forget, you're always welcome to pop over and say hi on tumblr. I'm tea-and-tumb1r, hit me up! Thanks again!!! .xx


End file.
